


River of Glass and Smoke

by amaurot



Category: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Fae Rules, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smut, Smut and Fluff, and you are reading the idea, emet is a prince, fae, i had an idea, i wrote an idea, reader and warrior of light are separate people, reader is a thief, some of this may be considered dub-con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:15:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26093968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaurot/pseuds/amaurot
Summary: Queen Hydaelyn has lost the war to the fae king, Zodiark, and she begs for him to spare her people. He agrees -- on two conditions.[Y/N] is a thief on the streets of Eulmore, but when her friend is threatened by Zodiark's men, she takes it upon herself to get her back to safety.~~This fic uses InteractiveFics. You'll want to substitute the following:[Y/N] - Your name[L/N] - Last name
Relationships: Elidibus/OC, Hydaelyn/Zodiark (Final Fantasy XIV), Lahabrea/OC, Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	River of Glass and Smoke

**Author's Note:**

> this is,,, not the rewrite of The Wandering One. I apologize. 
> 
> While I couldn't get my ideas to work for that at the moment (maybe sometime in the future!) I do know a lot about fae. So I thought, fuck it! I've not seen a faerie FFXIV fic. 
> 
> So this was born.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy it!

Her people are doomed.

Their queen has failed them, and they are most assuredly doomed.

She is desperate to save them from certain death, and experience has taught her that desperate people will do desperate things. Especially when other people’s lives are on the line. 

Well, she is desperate. And there are thousands — maybe even millions of lives at stake.

“Peace.” She whispers, almost begs. So soft that she’s barely audible.

It is only her and him — him and her. He could easily snuff out her life with the wave of his hand. If she doesn’t negotiate this properly, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. 

She will die, and no one — not even her son — will know what became of her. This meeting was a complete secret from everyone in her circle. Not because she didn’t trust them, but because she knew better. They would have never let her go.

The miracle of this war was not that the fae had won.

It’s that the humans —  _ her people _ — held onto hope for so long. Believed with such ferocity that they might survive and  _ win _ against the faeries.

She had been doomed from the beginning.

The faerie king slowly looked up from his reading, “What was that, my dear?”

She knows it’s a jab at her. “Peace,” she repeats, “I will do anything if you stop slaughtering my people.”

‘Anything’ is such a dangerous word. 

His smile slowly creeps across his face, spreading his already thin lips even thinner. There is no warmth in his gaze. “I knew that you’d come to such conclusions.” He motions to the chair across from him. “I’ve already laid out my conditions.”

The queen hesitates, and then slowly lowers herself into the chair. “Proceed.”

_ If only _ , she thought to herself,  _ there was another way. _

* * *

The rumors that King Zodiark’s men had been going from city to city snatching up any young woman who was above the age of eighteen and unmarried were, in fact, not rumors at all.

Many of the women went to the capital city of Amaurot. A few were returned to where they had been grabbed.

And now that same army had come here, to Eulmore.

Which means that stealing food had just gotten that much harder on [Y/N].

She tapped her fingers against the stone of the building impatiently. If this group would hurry up and leave, she could have an orange for breakfast. She hardly ever got that, so she was becoming quite impatient.

“Damn fae…” She muttered softly to herself.

Thinking they owned the place, that they were the prettiest and the strongest and the smartest —

_ Damn fae. _

She shoved her hands in her pockets, both to stop her from tapping her fingers against the freezing stone and to try and keep the frost out of her bones. A finger lost to frostbite is nothing to sneeze at in her line of work.

“Come  _ on.” _

Surely it didn’t take this long to —  _ there. _

The guards finally turned the corner, leaving the marketplace with two girls that were probably the daughters of a few of the merchants around here.

She didn’t know them, though, which meant that there was no way she was going to stick her neck out for them. Was it sad that they had been grabbed? Yes, but, to be fair, [Y/N] had more of a chance to get snatched herself rather than actually doing anything. If it were Maeve, well —

Well, Maeve was a different story.

[Y/N]’s eyes roamed over the expanse of the marketplace, looking for any more of those black uniforms. When she was fully convinced that it was clear, she jumped down from her alcove to the sidewalk below. The fruit vendor was just around here, and it was quite easy for her to sneak up and grab whatever she liked.

When she rounded the corner, though, he tossed her an orange.

She fumbled with it for a few seconds, then finally managed to grip it so that it wouldn’t fall out of her hands. The question was on her lips, but she had scarce amount of time to voice it before he interrupted her.

“Get your ass out of here before those pricks come back.” He crossed his arms. “Don’t need you getting picked up for whatever that bastard’s doing too.”

[Y/N] stared at the fruit in her hand, and then nodded. “Right — thank you.” She met his gaze. “I guess I owe you now?”

“You’ll never pay up.” He waved her off. “Scurry back to your hole.”

She ignored the insult, grinning a little as she turned away. He was right, she would probably never be able to pay him back.

Funny that they knew each other so well, even though they never interacted beyond him screaming at her to leave his wares be.  _ Hell _ , she didn’t even know his name, and he was sure that he didn’t know hers either.

But there was no time to dwell on that. She shoved the orange into her coat pocket and scaled the side of the building once more.

With the time his kindness had bought her, she’d be able to see Maeve before her friend’s duties spirited her away for the rest of the day. 

She quickly sprinted across the rooftops, heading north across the city. 

As figured, the blonde was out on her balcony by the time [Y/N] reached her home.

She leaned against the roof, hands in her pockets again. 

Maeve was a damsel in distress sort of beauty. Curly blonde hair, pale skin, round eyes. It helped that her parents were some of the more affluent people in the city, and she got to wear some of the prettiest gowns that [Y/N] had ever seen. 

“You keep staring off in the distance like that, you might get some undying declarations of love.”

Maeve gasped, whirling around to see who it was speaking to her, but relaxed a great deal when she met her friend’s gaze. “You know there’s only one I’ll accept.” Her laughter reached her pale blue eyes.

[Y/N] dropped down onto the balcony rail, and pressed the back of her hand to her forehead as she leaned against the wall. “Don’t tell me — your darling Acwald?”

Maeve, still laughing, grabbed her hand and pulled her down. “Keep that up, and you’ll fall.”

“I don’t fall.” 

Still, she stepped down from the rail.

“What are you doing here?” The other asked. “I thought you’d be in hiding until Zodiark’s men left.”

“You’re one to talk, standing on the balcony like a princess needing to be rescued.”

“I’m to be married. I have nothing to fear.”

[Y/N] took her hands. “You aren’t married yet, Maeve. You know the fae will look for any sort of loophole to exploit.”

“I’ll be fine.” She grinned reassuringly. “You, on the other hand — give you a bath, and you’d look like a right proper lady yourself, you would.”

“I take baths.”

“The rain  _ doesn’t _ count.”

They both laughed, and Maeve led her friend inside to warm herself by the fire and escape the snow that was beginning to fall.

She plopped down on the couch while [Y/N] stood next to the mantle. “What’s your shenanigans for the day been, then?”

“The usual.” She pulled out her knife and the orange. “Only this time I didn’t have to steal anything. Can you believe it? He gave it to me for nothing!”

The other frowned. “You don’t need to steal. I can get you some money, you know.”

She shook her head and popped a slice of orange in her mouth. “The war is over. Your family will need all the money you can get.”

No doubt Zodiark would start taxing the human population to high hell for wasting his  _ precious _ money on a war effort. Which, in all honesty, was barely an effort on his end.

“[Y/N] —”

“I promise, it’s fine.” [Y/N] waved it off. “Focus on your family, not mine.”

Or, lack thereof.

It didn’t matter, though.

What  _ did _ matter was that Maeve didn’t get snatched. That none of the fae managed to sniff out that she wasn’t married yet. She was happy with her life right now, and she didn’t want to see that ruined.

The fae couldn’t snatch what they couldn’t catch, and [Y/N] was exactly that kind of person. She didn’t fall off the roofs, didn’t slip in puddles, knew the streets from running rampant through them for twenty years. Slipping guards was as natural as breathing at this point.

But Maeve had never needed to do such things. She knew which forks to use when it came to mealtimes, but there had never been a time in her life that she had  _ needed _ to steal.

At least, not that [Y/N] knew of.

And they’d known each other since they were kids. There was little that they weren’t at least aware of with the other.

“The offer is still out there.” Maeve said after a few moments of silence.

“I know.”

The offer had been out there for fourteen years.

[Y/N] glanced at the clock over the fireplace. It was nearly seven. She needed to go before Maeve’s maid came up and saw her.

Her friend could see it in her eyes. “Already that time?” She stood. “Feels like I’ve barely seen you.”

[Y/N] put her hands on Maeve’s shoulders. “Don’t wait longer than necessary. Tell Acwald —”

“You worry too much.”

“ _ You _ aren’t worrying enough.”

“How many times have I told  _ you _ that?”

She grinned, and then hugged Maeve. After a moment, she broke away. There were footsteps coming up the stairs.

[Y/N] saluted goodbye, and then hurried back out onto the balcony. She jumped onto the rail, and then hauled herself back up onto the roof.

The bite of the wind over the rooftops was harsh, but familiar.

* * *

Having the queen of the humans under him was delightful. 

Seeing her skin marred with dark red marks from his teeth, hearing her cry out his name, knowing that he had her at his mercy —

The humans had been a thorn in his side for far too long. For years, he’d been trying to take Eorzea for his own, but Hydaelyn’s family had always stood in the way. Always been too  _ righteous _ to let him just take what he wanted.

He wondered how they’d feel, knowing that their prodigal child gave herself to him every night since their meeting three weeks ago.

“Tomorrow,” Zodiark put his hands on Hydaelyn’s hips as she rode him, “my sons will choose.” 

She leaned her head back, white-blonde hair plastered to the sides of her neck with perspiration. Her eyes were closed, as if she were concentrating on something. 

After a moment, she spoke. “You are sure you have enough potential brides?”

His hand slid up her side, all the way up to her neck. He forced her down to him, pressing a hungry kiss to her lips just as he released inside her. He kept his arms around her as he separated, having no plans on releasing her yet. 

“I am sure that my sons will find someone appropriate.” Zodiark murmured, soothing her hair down. “At the very least, Elidibus has already found his.”

She raised her eyes to his. “One that you approve of?”

“Whether I approve of him or not is not for me to say.” He blinked. “Fate decrees who we couple ourselves with. Trust me when I say that you were my last pick.”

And he was sure that fate would have a few more tricks up her sleeve come tomorrow. Either that, or Emet-Selch was going to be his usual spiteful self.

He looked forward to neither outcome.


End file.
